Midterm elections 2018 polls LIVE: Republicans launch HACKING probe amid RECORD turnout

The US will head to the polls on November 6 for the Congressional midterm elections. 

Up for grabs are one-third of the Senate and every seat in the House of Representatives, the two chambers making up congress. 

Polls are showing the Democrats have a good chance of taking the House, but Senate looks likely to remain in Republican control, and in a final push to keep the House with the GOP, President Donald Trump has hit the campaign trail with a vengeance.

Follow us here for live updates. All times GMT.

Sunday November 4

11.40am update: US President claims voting for Democrat Stacey Abrams would turn ‘Georgia into Venezuela’

Donald Trump warned the crowd that a victory for Stacey Abrams, the Democrat candidate, will have “Georgia turn into Venezuela”. 

He called her the “most extreme, far-left politicians in the entire country.”

The American firebrand said: “She wants to raise your income tax very substantially, she wants to raise your property tax very substantially.

“She supports a socialistic takeover of health care.” 

11.09am update: Trump says midterm elections remind him of 2016

The US President said the final days before Tuesday’s midterm elections remind him of the days before his 2016 win.

Trump told the crowd in Georgia: “There’s electricity in the air like I haven’t seen since ’16.”

He also added joking that he “wouldn’t say” this election is “as important as ’16, but it’s right up there.”

Martina Bet takes over live reporting from Alice Scarsi

10.45pm update: Donald Trump boasts about economy 

Daniel Dale, Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star, wrote on Twitter as he attended the rally in Georgia: “Trump says that when he meets with ‘kings and queens and princes and we meets on occasion with a president and a prime minister,’ ‘every one of them,’ ‘practically,’ comes into the Oval and says congratulations on ‘the incredible job you’ve done with the economy.’

10.15pm update: Brett Kavanaugh was ‘treated badly’ says Donald Trump

Donald Trump is attending his first rally of the day, in Georgia. 

Speaking about the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as judge of the Supreme Court, Mr Trump said he was “treated badly”. 

Daniel Dale, Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star, wrote on Twitter: “Big cheers for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.

“‘Boy did he get treated badly,’ Trump says.

“He asks people if they saw the story about the self-discredited Kavanaugh accuser (who got substantially less attention than the others, such as Blasey Ford).” 

The CNN reported after Mr Trump’s words on Mr Kavanaugh, the crowd broke out in “lock her up” chants addressed to Dr Ford. 

Mr Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual assault by Dr Blasey Ford and two more people. 

10pm update: Donald Trump Jr to attend SIX rallies in ONE day

The US president’s eldest son will campaign in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and New York on Monday, boosting six House candidates and Patrick Morrisey, the party’s nominee in the West Virginia Senate race. 

This move will come one day before the midterm elections take place. 

9.05pm update: Donald Trump ‘wants to turn us against each other’ – SHOCK CLAIM 

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren made the claim while replying a question asked by reporters in Worcester, Massachussets. 

Speaking about Mr Trump’s harsh stance agains the migrant caravan, which sees thousands of migrants travelling across Central America to reach the US southern border, Ms Warren said: “What Donald Trump wants to do is see if he can turn us against each other.

“He wants to see if he can stir up more fear.”  

8.50pm update: Donald Trump claims a 40 percent approval rating by African Americans 

Mr Trump said it was a “great honour” to have such a high approval rating among African Americans. 

Citing a “Fox Poll”, he wrote on Twitter: “New Fox Poll shows a ‘40% Approval Rating by African Americans for President Trump, a record for Republicans.’

“Thank you, a great honor!”

8.30pm update: Donald Trump won’t ‘accept responsibility’ for Republicans failure

The US president is unlikely to “accept personal responsibility” for any losses in the midterm elections, foreign politics expert Adam Hug told Express.co.uk.

The director at the British think tank Foreign Policies Centre said: “Indications so far show little sign that Mr Trump will accept personal responsibility for any losses in the midterms and while there may be increased pressure on him to moderate his behaviour, past experience suggests that any impact would be short-lived.” 

Democrats are still leading the race for the House of Representatives, an election-eve poll by NBC News/Wall Street Journal has revealed. 

Alice Scarsi taking over live reporting from Georgina Laud

7.58pm update: Midterm Elections could see severe weather across several states

According to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar, the forecast is leaning towards severe weather in key states the day before as well as during the midterm election day.

This includes the potential for tornadoes as well as damaging winds in Tennessee and Indiana on Monday.

This could push to the east throughout Election Day. 

On election day (Tuesday, November 6), weather expert Ms Chinchar said southern states on the eastern US coast could see severe storms and potentially localized flooding in some areas.

7.40pm update: The President has set off in Marine One for events in Georgia and Tennessee

President Donald Trump has left the White House today and is on his way to events in Georgia and Tennessee.

There the President will be looking to boost Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s midterm bid, as well as that of Tennessee Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn.

Trump stopped to talk to reporters before he boarded Marine One and seemed to indicate that he felt better about his party’s chances of retaining control of the Senate than the House.

The President spoke to reporters before boarding Marine One: ”I think we’re going to do very well in the Senate,” he said.

“I think we’re going to do well in the House.

“The difference is I can’t campaign with all of those House members. There’s so many of them, but I can go out and help senators.”

7.15pm update: Latest poll results 

According to a YouGov poll of 1,000 people taken across November 3 – 4.42 percent approved of the President.

This comes as polling site FiveThirtyEight today say that the Democrats have an 84.5 percent chance of winning control in the House of Representatives.

When it comes to the race for the Senate, Republicans have an 84.7 percent chance of maintaining control.

6.43pm update: Georgia Secretary of State opens probe into the state’s Democratic Party

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s election, has opened a probe of the state Democratic Party.

This over what his office alleged today was a failed attempt to hack voter registration systems.

Kemp’s office, which supervises elections in Georgia, has so far given no evidence publicly for launching the investigation just two days before voters go to the polls.

The race between Kemp and Democrat candidate Stacey Abrams, who is vying to become the nation’s first black female governor, has become a flashpoint for allegations of voter suppression.

Kemp’s office said in a statement today it opened the investigation late on Saturday and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI were notified.

In 2016, Kemp alleged that a federal agency had tried to breach the state’s voting system.

6.16pm update: Donald Trump has warned that should the Democrats win on Tuesday the stock market will go down

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that one of his favourite measures of success, the stock market, is in danger if voters favor Democrats in the congressional elections.

While not fully accurate – stocks do tend to rise regardless of who controls the government – it does bear out that the market has delivered a slightly stronger performance on average when Republicans dominate in Washington.

Trump warned in a tweet on Tuesday that a change in Congress would be bad for the market, saying: “If you want your Stocks to go down, I strongly suggest voting Democrat.”

5.26pm update: President Trump will campaign with singer Lee Greenwood today and tomorrow

President Donald Trump’s campaign announced today that he would be joined by “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood at a rally in Tennessee on Sunday and then again in Missouri on Monday evening. 

Trump is nearly always brought on stage to the song in his rallies, waiting for the song to finish before he begins to speak.

Trump campaign official Michael Glassner said in the announcement:

“Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the USA’ has been a fixture of our iconic Trump rallies and is beloved by millions of patriotic Americans.”

4.50pm update: What are the parties focused on?

The race for House of Representative control is a closely run one between the Democrats and Republicans. 

In the midterm elections the Democrats are focused on protecting a 2010 healthcare law.

Meanwhile President Donald Trump has touted economic growth and sounded dire warnings on immigration to gain votes for his party.

Georgina Laud takes over live reporting from Kat Hopps

3.48pm update: Democrats lead by seven percentage points, NBC-WSJ poll shows

The Democrats are leading the Republicans by seven percentage points, 50 percent to 43 percent, an election-eve poll by NBC News/Wall Street Journal has revealed.

But the figures are slightly down on the nine percentage lead the Democrats had last month.

2.54pm update: Trump calls installation of barbed wire border ‘beautiful’

President Trump has described the first wave of barbed wire barricades put up along the US-Mexican border as “beautiful”.

US troops have so far installed the razor-sharp wire blockades along 170 miles of the banks of the Rio Grande River.

Mr Trump told supporters at his campaign rally in Montana: “We have our military on the border.

“And I noticed all that beautiful barbed wire going up today. Barbed wire used properly can be a beautiful sight.”

The US president also used his speech to once more condemn the caravan of migrants travelling towards the US border.

He said: “These are bad people. Bad hombres.

“There are some bad hombres in that group. So they came out with a list of 300 really bad ones, really bad ones. They’re in there.”

The numbers listed came from a Department of Homeland Security report, which states 270 of the travelling migrants have committed crimes including sexual assault and robbery.

2.10pm update: Young people could affect result in ‘swing states’

Early voting indications suggest young people could help swing Congress towards the Democrats on Tuesday.

But Angela Wilson, professor of politics at the University of Manchester, told Express.co.uk: “It really depends on where the young people are located.

She said: “If the young people are in traditionally blue states which already lean towards Democratic candidates, it may bolster the numbers but not necessarily alter the expected outcome.

“If the young people are in ‘purple’ swing states, it could make a significant difference to the result. The question is whether activism will lead to voting – will they get to the polls?”

1.18pm update: What are the latest polling forecasts?

Senate:

Republicans have an 84.3 percent chance – 5 in 6 – of winning control

Democrats have a 15.7 percent chance – 1 in 6 – of winning control

House:

Republicans have an 85 percent chance – 6 in 7 – of winning control

Democrats have a 15 percent chance – 1 in 7 – of winning control

11.53am update: More Hispanics likely to vote on Tuesday than in 2014 midterms, new polls show

The number of Hispanic voters casting their ballot in November’s midterm elections could be up by a third on the 2014 midterms, with their turnout higher than the overall surge in voting across all US adults, a national tracking poll out today shows.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll, taken between September 1 and October 29, found 36 percent of Hispanic voters said they were “certain” to vote, up from 27 percent in 2014.

The increase is nearly double the five percentage rise among all US voters over the same period, according to the data.

And those same voters are twice as likely to back the Democrat party.

Latino enthusiasm is thought to be rising as President Trump’s Republican Party increases its hardline anti-immigrant talk.

11.15am update: What time do polling stations open on November 6?

Polling stations across the United States will open for voting on Tuesday, November 6. 

But times will vary according to each individual state.

Find out what time you can vote in the midterm elections 2018 depending on where you live.

9.45am update: Stacey Abrams’ Democrat campaign targeted by racist robocalls

Both campaigns for the candidates running for the governor of Georgia have condemned a racist and anti-Semitic recording sent to residents in the state days before the election.

The campaign for Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, who is hoping to become the first US black governor, denounced the calls as evidence of the “increasing desperation” of the Republican campaign.

Abrams’ rival, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, called them “absolutely disgusting”.

The calls impersonated Oprah Winfrey, who has thrown her weight behind the campaign in Abrams, as well as anti-Semitic language.

Similar racists calls were sent out in Florida in August to undermine Democrat candidate Andrew Gillum, who is black.

8.34am update: Trump tells Montana crowd Democrats want to invite “caravan after caravan to flood your communities’

President Trump hardened his stance on immigration at his rally in Montana, accusing the Democrats of encouraging endless numbers of migrants to the US.

Mr Trump told his supporters: “The Democrats want to invite caravan after caravan to flood your communities, depleting our resources and flooding our nation. We don’t want that.”

The US president was in Montana to boost the campaign of Republican candidate Matt Rosendale who is challenging Democrat Jon Tester in the Senate.

He also claimed “America is booming” while talking about the economy while standing in an airfield in front of Air Force One.

Mr Trump said: “America is booming. Republicans passed a massive tax cut for working families and we will soon follow it up with another 10 percent tax cut for the middle class.”

8.15am: Kat Hopps takes over live blog

6:00am update: Twitter deletes over 10,000 accounts trying to discourage people from voting

Near the end of September and the beginning of October, Twitter deleted over 10,000 accounts that were trying to discourage people from voting.

The Democrats flagged multiple messages that were pretending to be Democrats that were trying to convince other Democrats to not vote.

This has been a part of a partnership that the Democrats have with several partners that are trying to hold social media organisation to account and stop the spread of misinformation.

4:00am update: Trump “one scared son of a gun” claims his former ghostwriter

According to ghostwriter Tony Schwartz who wrote Trump’s famous book “The Art of the Deal”, Trump is panicking as the midterms get closer to elections day. 

Mr Schwarts says that Trump will “throw anything against the wall in a feeling of desperation” to make sure that the Republicans do not lose the elections.

He added that what Trump “realises is this could turn very, very dark for him” and he could potentially lose both the House and the Senate despite polling saying that Republicans will hold the Senate. 

2:33am update: Trump’s request for troops on the border denied

The Pentagon has said that they will not approve Trump’s request to send at least 5,000 active-duty troops to the US border.

They said that it should be handled by local or state law enforcement and did not approve the use of live-fire weapons.

Trump has repeatedly said that he will send anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 troops to the border.

He has also labelled the 3,000 migrants heading to the border as an “invasion”. 

Nicholas Frakes takes over reporting from Abbie Llewelyn

12:02am update: The Presidents stops his speech to ask a doctor to treat a woman in the crowd

A doctor is apprently treating a women taken ill in the crowd.

The President said: “Move that particution. That’s good. Take your time.”

Then added: “Thank you doctor. Great job. Got to get their fees down.”

11:55pm update: Trump tells the cameras to pan and show the crowd

Trump tells the media to pan their camera s and show the crowd during the Florida rally.

He said: “They never show the crowd”.

A number of camera operators do this, including One America News.

Saturday November 3

11:30pm update: Donald Trump arrives in Pensacola, Florida for second rally of the day

Donald Trump is ready for a speech at Pensacola International Airport in his second rally today.

Joining him in Florida is Vice President Mike Pence, Governor hopeful Ron DeSantis and Senate candidate Rick Scott.

Trump tweeted: “Amazing lines of people wanting to get in – what a crowd!

“Is this the sign of Republican Strength on Tuesday?”

Abbie Llewelyn takes over reporting from Georgina Laud

6.54pm update: Donald Trump arrives in Montana for his rally in Bozeman

President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to announce his arrival in Montana ahead of his rally in three hours time. 

In his tweet the President also boasted about how long queues were to attend the event in comparison to his predecessor, Barack Obama. 

Trump tweeted: “Landing in Montana now – at least everybody admits that my lines and crowds are far bigger than Barack Obama’s…”

6.24pm update: What is a ‘Blue Wave’?

Both parties in the Midterm elections are also known by their party colours.

The Democrats are blue and Donald Trump’s party the Republicans, red.

There have been talks of a ‘blue wave’, which means that the Democrats would seize control by gaining 218 or more seats in the House of Representatives.

In a similar notion, a Red Wave would be the Republicans maintaining majority in the House.

5.13pm update:  There are three scenarios which could happen in the midterms elections

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research these are the three possible scenarios following Tuesday’s vote –

Scenario 1 (Most likely): Democrats take control of the House, while Republicans keep a slim majority in the Senate

Scenario 2: (Second most likely): Republicans hold control of both chambers

Scenario 3: (Least likely): Democrats take hold of both the Senate and the House.

Georgina Laud takes over live reporting from Kat Hopps

3.55pm: How popular is Trump?

President Trump’s approval rating remains low, according to the latest YouGov poll out today.

Mr Trump’s disapproval rating stands at 53 percent, while his approval waiting is 42.1 percent.

The YouGov poll, listed on website Five Thirty Eight, was taken between November 1 and 3.

2.35pm: Trump administration to reinstate US sanctions on Iran the day before midterm voting

Washington is to reintroduce all the sanctions it removed from Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal – with the move to come into effect the day before the midterm elections.

Eight countries have been granted waivers to allow them to keep temporarily buying oil from Iran.

Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today reataliated against the Trump administration, saying: “The world opposes every decision made by Trump,” as quoted by Iranian state television.

“America’s goal has been to re-establish the domination it had (before 1979) but it has failed. America has been defeated by the Islamic Republic over the past 40 years.”

Britain, the EU, Germany and Grane have all criticised the move made by the US on Friday.

1.55pm update: Trump on campaign trail again today

President Trump will be out canvassing support for the Republican party again today, this time heading to Montana and Florida.

Mr Trump tweeted: “Heading to Montana and Florida today! Everyone is excited about the Jobs Numbers – 250,000 new jobs in October. Also, wages rising. Wow!”

11.47am update: Trump backtracks over ‘firing’ on migrants comments

President Trump has backtracked on comments he made that US troops would be free to fire on migrants who hurl rocks at them while trying to cross the US border.

Mr Trump’s new remarks, referencing the caravan of migrants on route to the United States from Central America, come after human rights groups’ condemned his suggestion on Thursday that the military should “consider it a rifle” if rocks were thrown at them.

He told reporters outside the White House yesterday: “They won’t have to fire. What I don’t want is I don’t want these people throwing rocks.

“If they do that with us, they’re going to be arrested for a long time.”

10.40am update: Republicans can gain votes in the Senate, GOP campaigner says

The Republicans could win more seats in the Senate – as long as the party’s voters are out in force.

That is the view of chairman of Republican Overseas Scotland Drew Liquerman, who told Express.co.uk a strong turnout from Republican voters was key.

He said: “This race in the House and the Senate is going to be so close and what it’s going to depend on, right now, it’s all going to depend on voter turnout.

“If we get all the Republicans out, like we’re expecting to, if Republicans come out in full-force I’ve no doubt in my mind that we will hold the Senate – probably pick up votes in the Senate.”

However, the GOP campaigner acknowledged the House was a far tougher battle for the Republicans.

He said: “Right now I think, if Republicans get out to vote, turnout is very strong, I think Republicans can hold the House.

“If they do lose it, I think it will be very close and it’ll come down to a few key House races. As of right now, if turnout is what I’m expecting it to be, I think the Republicans will hold the Senate if not gain seats.”

Consistent polling has indicated the Democrats are likely to seize control of the House on November 6.

Here are the latest forecasts from polling website FiveThirty Eight as of 5.30am BST.

Senate:

Republicans have a 84.5 percent chance, 6 in 7, of keeping control

Democrats have a 15.5 percent chance, 1 in 7, of winning control

House:

Democrats have a 85.2 percent chance, 6 in 7, of winning control

Republicans have a 14.8 percent chance, 1 in 7, of keeping control

8.25am update: Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt urge people to vote

Hollywood A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio, 43, and Brad Pitt, 54, are the latest celebrities calling on people to vote in the midterms.

The stars of the new Quentin Tarantino film, Once Upon A Time, posted a video to environmental campaigner DiCaprio’s Instagram page on Friday.

DiCaprio said: “The future of our country will be decided this week. Elections don’t just matter when voting for president.

“This election might be the most consequential of our lifetime.”

After listing some of the policies, he added: “So much is at stake. From gun safety laws to immigration policy, clean water and air, and whether or not millions of people have access to health care.”

Pitt, who said the midterms were as imporant as the presidential elections, added: “These issues will be decided from the House of Representatives, to the Senate, to dozens of governor races.

“Statehouse elections will determine the future of climate change, criminal justice reform, education funding, LGBTQ equality and even your ability to vote.”

The two actors are the latest celebrities to speak out publicly about voting.

A live-stream telethon featuring more than 50 actors, YouTubers and comedians will air on Tuesday in a bid to encourage young people to vote.

8.15am: Kat Hopps takes over live blog

4:40am update: Can Republicans pull off a win?

While Democrats are expected to retake the House of Representatives, it is still possible for the Republicans to maintain a majority.

Prior to the election, the Republicans were able to redraw district lines in a move called gerrymandering.

This means that the Republicans were able to reshape districts in a way that could allow them to maintain a majority in more counties and ultimately keep their majority in the House.

3:30am update: Young voters do not want to participate 

In the final few days before the midterm elections, many young people are saying that they do not want to vote.

Some of these people have said that they do not have an ID that their state accepts as identification while others are saying that it is too much work.

Others are also saying that they do not see the importance of voting and some say that they will just do it in 2020.

2:228am update: Cohen claims Trump said that black people are ‘stupid’

During an interview with Vanity Fair, Trump’s former lawyer called black people “stupid”.

Mr Cohen said: “I told Trump that the rally looked vanilla on television.

“Trump responded, ‘That’s because black people are too stupid to vote for me’.”

1:30am update: Trump compares crowd size with Obama

During his speech in Indianapolis, Trump commented on the size of former President Barack Obama’s crowd size.

He said: “Barack Obama. I watched him speak today.

“He had a very small crowd.”

Trump said this while speaking in a high school gymnasium.

12:26am update: Man steals the show at Trump rally

During a rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, a man in the crowd stole the show from Trump.

While he was speaking, people watching the rally online or on the television could see a man “dabbing” throughout the speech.

Saturday November 3

Nicholas Frakes taking over reporting from Amani Hughes

Friday November 2

10.14pm update: Obama warns do not incite fear in campaign

Barack Obama has been campaigning in support of Democratic candidates and has warned against inciting fear while President Donald Trump hammered a hardline anti-immigration message to energise Republicans.

The former president hit on a common theme of Democratic campaigns – defending the 2010 healthcare law that was his signature domestic achievement, while urging Americans not to embrace hostility and division in politics.

Obama said in Miami: “We have seen repeated attempts to divide us with rhetoric designed to make us angry and make us fearful.

“But in four day, Florida, you can be a check on that kind of behavior.”

Obama was flanked by gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who faces former congressman and strong Trump backer Ron DeSantis, and Senator Bill Nelson, who is being challenged by the outgoing governor, Rick Scott.

Trump’s campaign stops were aimed at bolstering Republicans challenging incumbent Democratic senators in West Virginia and Indiana, states he won in the 2016 presidential election.

“This election will decide whether we build on the extraordinary prosperity that we’ve unleashed … or whether we let the radical Democrats take a giant wrecking ball to America and to our future,” Trump said in West Virginia.

Opinion polls and non-partisan forecasters generally show Democrats as having strong chances of winning 23 additional seats and taking a majority in the House of Representatives, which they could use to launch investigations into Trump’s administration and block his legislative agenda.

9.17pm update: Hollywood celebrities urge young people to vote

Hollywood’s A-listers are urging young people to vote in this Tuesday’s midterm elections.

More than 50 actors, comedians, and YouTube stars will join a two-hour, live-streamed telethon on Monday night aimed at firing up younger voters – the age group least likely to cast a ballot.

During the ‘Telethon for America’, celerities will urge viewers to call in to a celebrity phone bank and pledge to vote the next day.

Comedian Chelsea Handler, who left her Netflix talk show a year ago to focus on activism, said she believes young people expect “older, more responsible adults” will act to solve problems through government.

“They just think someone else is going to take care of it, it’s not their problem and they may not be directly affected by it,” Handler, who is 43, said in an interview.

A Reuters/IPSOS poll found in October, only 25 percent of people aged 18-29 were certain to vote in the election, the lowest percentage of any age bracket.

8.47pm update: What are the latest poll predictions?

The latest polls from Five Thirty Eight today predict the following:

House of Representatives

Democrats 5 in 6 chance or 84.4 percent chance of winning the House

Republicans 1 in 6 or 15.6 percent chance

The Democrats are tripped to win an average 38 seats

Senate

Republicans 6 in 7 chance or 85.1 percent of keeping control of the Senate

Democrats have 1 in 7 chance or 14.9 percent of winning control.

The Republicans have a 23-seat majority in the House, where are all 435 seats are up for re-election.

But despite only having a two-seat majority in the Senate, 18 of the 27 that they hold are expected to remain blue.

8.13pm update: What are the key governor races?

Voters in 39 states will choose governors this year and more than 80 percent of state legislative seats are up for election.

Larry Sabato, director of the Virginia Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said: “The most important work done in the country in public policy is done in the states by governors and state legislatures.

He added: “The governors and the legislatures in most of the states that have partisan forms of redistricting will redistrict every single U.S House seat except in those states that have only one representative, and will also redistrict all of the state Senate seats and State House of Representative seats.”

The GOP currently holds 33 governor’s seats, compared to 16 for the Democrats.

All US governors serve four-year terms, except those in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, where the terms span two years.

7.35pm update: Barack Obama slams Republicans for their “constant fear-mongering”

The former president attacked Donald Trump and the Republicans for their divisive rhetoric, number of indictments, and “constant fear-mongering.”

During his speech in Miami, Obama said: “They’re telling you the existential threat to America is a bunch of poor refugees 1,000 miles away.” “They’re even taking our brave troops away from their families for a political stunt at the border. The men and women of our military deserve better than that.”

7.20pm update: Obama tells Floridians “Tuesday might be the most important election of our lifetimes”

Barack Obama campaigned for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum at a rally in Miami, Florida on Friday.

In his speech, the former president said: “The real reason I came down to Miami is because this Tuesday might be the most important election of our lifetimes.

“Politicians will always say that, but this time it’s actually true. The stakes really are that high.

Obama added: “The consequences of any of us staying home really are more dangerous because America is at a crossroads.”

6.56pm update: Midterm elections campaign MOST EXPENSIVE in history

The 2018 midterm elections are proving to be a costly affair.

In Texas, Democrat Beto O’Rourke and Republican incumbent Ted Cruz have spent a combined $93m on their campaigns ahead of the election.

Overall, the Center for Responsive Politics has predicted more than $5 billion will spent on this election.

No midterm elections have ever surpassed $4.2 billion.

6.17pm update: Thousands of Georgia residents ‘must be allowed to vote’ judge rule

A federal judge has ruled that 3,141 recently naturalised US citizens must be allowed to vote after their voter registration were placed on hold.

This is a defeat for Georgia Secretary of State and Republican candidate Brian Kemp.

Voting rights activists say many of them are minority voters.

Kristen Clark, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said: “This eliminates the unfair burdens that those voters would have faced on Election Day.”

5.35pm update: Romney speaks out about Trump calling media the “enemy”

In a blog post published on Thursday, November 1, Mitt Romney criticised US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric against the media industry.

In the post, Mr Romney wrote: “Surely every president has endured stories that he knew were inaccurate and has chaffed at one or more news publications…

“But no American president has ever before vilified the American press or one of its professional outlets as an “Enemy of the People.”

5.09pm update: THOUSANDS of people are lining up to watch Obama speak

Barack Obama is expected to speak at a rally in Miami Friday afternoon, local time.

And thousands of people have already started to line up to watch the former president’s speech.

Obama is campaigning for Andrew Gillum, the Democrat Tallahassee Mayor running for governor.

The speech will take place at the Ice Palace Film Studios in Miami.

Watch the crowd queueing up to watch Obama. 

4.26pm update: Senators urge Facebook to fix ‘loophole’ allowing its users to lie about source of political ads

A recent report conducted by Vice News suggests that Facebook’s new regulations for political ads is easily manipulated, allowing users to post ads under fabricated identities.

Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mark Warner are urging Mark Zuckerberg to address the loophole, calling the problem “deeply troubling.”

In a joint statement, the two Democrats said: “We appreciate the work that Facebook has done to implement the Honest Ads Act, our legislation to create transparency and accountability measures for paid online political ads,” the two say in a joint statement.

“However, it is increasingly clear that major gaps exist in Facebook’s efforts, potentially allowing adversaries to exploit your platform with continued disinformation efforts.”

4.10pm update: President Donald Trump outraged by “crazy, lunatic” constitutional amendment

Trump has slammed the constitutionally protected provision of birthright citizenship as a “crazy, lunatic policy.”

On Thursday night, the US President issued a new attack on the 14th Amendment, which guarantees that even children born on US soil to undocumented immigrants are American citizens.

And today, Trump vowed tough restrictions on asylum and turned his attention to consolidating GOP power.

He even stated US troops could turn their guns on members of the migrant caravan, a group of asylum seekers heading to the US.

3.50pm update: No known foreign attack on Midterm election infrastructure

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen has said the department has seen “continued attempts” to access election-related systems.

But the few attempts that succeeded in gaining access have not come from foreign countries.

She said: ”What would be strange is if we didn’t see any attempts… So as of today, we do not have any activity that we’re attributing on the election infrastructure to a foreign entity.”

3.35pm update: Obama hits campaign trail to boost Florida and Georgia

Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum in Miami on Friday afternoon, local time.

Gillum could become Florida’s first African-American governor with a victory next week.

And Democrats are hoping Obama’s visit to the Sunshine State can put Gillum over the top in a race he has led narrowly.

After the former president’s Miami visit, he will head to Atlanta to meet up with former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams. 

3.05pm update: President Trump has made THOUSANDS of false or misleading claims since starting his presidency

President Trump has made 6,420 false or misleading claims over 649 days, according to an analysis made by the Washington post.

According to the analysis the US President made 1,318 false or misleading claims in the first nine months of his presidency.

This is an average of five a day.

However, in the seven weeks leading up the 2018 midterm elections, Mr Trump made 1,419 false or misleading claims — an average of 30 a day.

2.58pm update: Latest polls show Republican Ted Cruz leads Beto O’Rourke in Texas

Polls are showing Republican Senator Ted Cruz holds a three-point lead over his challenger, Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

While still in the lead, this latest poll shows a tightening gap between the candidates.

Internal Republican polling indicates that Mr. Cruz is ahead by about eight point, something not reflected in the public polls.

This indicates the importance of turnout: if turnout is as high as expected, particularly after the high early voter turnout.

Mr Cruz leads Mr O’Rourke 50 percent to 47 percent among likely voters surveyed in the Emerson College poll released on Thursday, with two percent of those surveyed still undecided.

The poll of 781 likely voters in Texas was conducted on Oct. 28-30 and has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

READ MORE: REPUBLICAN TED CRUZ LEADS BETO O’ROURKE IN TEXAS

2.55pm update: Betting trends suggest Republicans will run Democrats CLOSE

With only days to go before the 2018 midterm election, political bettors are taking a dimmer view of the prospects of the ‘blue wave’ than certain pundits and sections of the media.

The odds suggest the Democrats have a 2 in 3 chance of taking the House, but many are willing to wager against it and in a situation identical to Trump’s win in 2016.

Here are the latest odds:

• Democrats 1/2 – 66 percent chance of winning
• Republicans 6/4 – 33 percent chance of winning
• No overall majority 100/1 – 1 percent chance of winning
• Democrats exact seats 226
• Republicans exact seats 203

2.45pm update: Democrats reveal their TOP PRIORITY: to investigate and impeach Trump

According to the Daily Beast, 37 percent of Democrats said their top priority is to “investigate and potentially impeach Trump.”

The poll was commissioned by Ipsos for The Daily Beast, where respondents were asked what lawmakers’ first priority would be after the vote on November 6.

The next popular answer was “fixing problems with our health care system” at 34 percent.

2.28pm update: 22 states + DC surpassed their 2014 total early vote

22 states and Washington DC, early voting numbers have surpassed those from the 2014.

1.58pm update: Three states to vote on measures to LIMIT abortion rights

Voters in states like West Virginia, Oregon and Alabama have abortion rights on the ballot this election.

The three US states long support for abortion rights is being tested on November’s ballot by a group of determined activists pushing an initiative to prohibit state funding for most abortions.

This comes in the wake of the confirmation of Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and major concerns from abortion-rights supporters that a new conservative consensus on the high court could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision outlawing restrictions on the procedure before the fetus is viable.

The stakes are high for both sides in the highly charged abortion debate.

1.31pm update: Trump has released what has been described as one of the most racist political adverts in history

The advert shows Bracamontes, who has been sentenced to death, laughing in court and vowing to kill more officers.

Words across the screen read: “Democrats let him into our country. Democrats let him stay.”

The advert then shows migrants pulling on what appears to be a border fence.

13.15pm update: More than 25 million people have voted early

According to data collected by Catalist, at least 25,859,552 votes have been cast early or by mail nationwide as of this morning.

So far, we know that more women than men have voted and a high percentage is elderly.

12.40pm update: Former President George H.W. Bush votes early alongside his two best friends

Former President George H.W. Bush was seen entering a polling station to cast his vote yesterday.

Mr Bush was accompanied by his two best friends – Jim Baker and his dog Sully.

The former president is one of thousands of Americans voting early ahead of the 2018 midterm elections this year.

Mr Bush spokesperson Jim McGrath tweeted a photo of the occasion, saying: “The 41st President accompanied by his two best friends — Jim Baker and Sully — discharging his civic duty and voting today.”

12.15pm update: The year of the women

For the first time in US history, the majority of the Democratic Party’s nominees are not white men.

According to Sky News, women, minority, LGBTQ and first-time candidates have won the primaries in record-breaking numbers.

This means traditional safe-seat “insider” Republicans are being pushed to the fringes of Trump’s party.

The reason is thought to be voters on both sides want more authentic, less polished and non-establishment candidates. 

Campaigns such as #metoo, March for Our Lives and Black Lives Matter are expected to have heavily influenced this year’s midterm elections and how Americans vote.

Amalie Henden taking over live reporting from Kate Whitfield

11.50pm update: Trump says he tells the truth ‘when he can’

US President Donald Trump says he always tries to tell the truth when he can, despite how the media portrays him.

“I do try,” he told ABC News in an interview aired on Thursday. “I always want to tell the truth. When I can, I tell the truth.”

Mr Trump has faced repeated criticism from US media and opponents for lying and distorting the truth around issues.

11.20pm update: Hillary Clinton in SHOCK admission

The former Secretary of State and two-time presidential candidate admitted she would “like to be president” as she revealed she would think about her political future following the November 6 elections.

When asked whether she wanted to run again, Ms Clinton said: “No, No,” before conceding “well I’d like to be president”.

Hillary Clinton, 71, then bizarrely appeared to recite her career experience, saying she felt “very well prepared” for the “work” that awaits a new Democratic president in 2020.

READ MORE: Could Hillary Clinton run for President again?

10.30am update: Oprah throws her weight behind Georgia’s Stacey Abrams

The talk show superstar Oprah Winfrey has been knocking on doors to get voters behind the Democrat’s nominee for governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams.

Oprah, 64, gave a rousing speech to Democrat supporters ahead of next Tuesday’s vote in which she called Ms Abrams a “changemaker”.

Speaking to a mostly female audience north of downtown Atlanta, she said: “I am here today because Stacey Abrams cares about the things that matter.

“I’m here today because of the men and because of the women who were lynched, who were humiliated, who were discriminated against, who were suppressed, who were repressed and oppressed.

“I refuse to let their sacrifices be in vain.”

Also rallying behind Ms Abrams is former president Barack Obama and Hollywood names such as Will Ferrel and Mark Ruffalo.

READ MORE: Who is Stacey Abrams?

9.30am update: What do the latest polls show?

According to polling site FiveThirtyEight, which takes polls from various platforms and combines them to provide the most ‘probabilistic’ estimate, Democrats hold a good chance of taking the House of Representatives.

Current polls show the Democrats have an 85.3 percent chance of taking the House. 

The Senate looks less hopeful for the Democrats, with only a 15.0 percent chance of taking control.

READ MORE: What do the midterms decide?

8.50am update: Oprah says ‘midterms are vital’

Speaking to Sky news at an event in Georgia, Oprah Winfrey said these elections “the most important thing people can do right now is use your power to vote in the midterms.”

The talk show host and stalwart of American television has been using her immense popularity to campaign for the Democrats. 

8.20am update: Ivanka Trump joins the campaign trail

Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, made a surprise appearance in Iowa on Thursday night as she joined the campaign trail. 

Campaigning with Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, Ivanka spoke to a crowded room at the Reynolds campaign headquarters. 

Mr Reynolds is locked in a tight contest for Iowa with Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell. 

READ MORE: Is Donald Trump DOOMED by this key factor?

8am update: Record-breaking early voter turnout nearly doubles from 2014

Early voting, which is offered in most states as a means to make voting more convenient and avoid long queues, has seen a record turnout.

The 2014 midterms saw 12,938,596 total votes cast with six days before the elections, compared to 24,024,621 total votes cast by Wednesday. 

These numbers are comparable to presidential elections, proving just how contentious and important these midterms are proving to be. 

And the race is still wide open: Battleground states like Texas – where progressive candidates like Beto O’Rourke have threatened to unseat Republican incumbents like Ted Cruz – have seen record-level early voter turnout ahead of Election Day.

7.00am update: Young people could sway election

Early voting among young people in key US midterm battleground states has surged dramatically in the run up to the midterms on November 6.

Texas and Georgia, traditionally Republican-leaning states, have seen an increase in the early vote rate among 18 to 29-year-olds by nearly five times compared to 2014.

In Texas, young voter turnout is currently up 508 per cent.

While a national poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government found 40 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds plan to “definitely vote” – double the 2014 figure.

And 66 percent of young voters polled said they would vote Democrat.